Maintenance & Restoration

honda03842 · 09-22-2014, 01:37 PM

I find this kind of a funny discussion. Everyone develops there own style, bed size, pets, rig parking,.... It's all interesting. I appreciate the differences and enjoy reading about them.

In Newfoundland you can pretty much find an off road spot and park if you choose, the Newfoundlander's do it on a regular basis. Just peep into some of the old highway sand pits.

One day we stopped beside a little lake for a snack. I noticed a piece of surveyor's plastic tape tied to a branch I walked over to it and there was a little, pretty steep drive down to the lake edge, just the right size for a small trailer. It was obvious that someone regularly parked there and the tape was the guide.

We travel about 230 days a year. We tend to use campgrounds. On our last trip to Newfoundland we stayed in a couple of private campgrounds (a Passport park twice) and mostly in Provincial Parks ($9-14 a night). We try to keep our public campground expenses to $20 or less a night and are relatively successful.

When we stay in a more expensive place it's usually to be convenient for someone else or a special event, these are more rare and more special.

Unlike many we almost never spend 12 hours driving. We look forward to stopping early, usually around noon and spending our time exploring a new community. I know whether you drive long hours per day or short hours, you have the same distance to drive however you're daily expenses are less, the average daily cost of fun less and for us more opportunity to see the interesting.

After 14 retired years on the road and some 3,000 nights we have come to recognize that the cost is worth it. We have chosen to reduce other life expenses to make it possible.

JALEE · 09-22-2014, 08:25 PM

I checked for walmarts on route and then cross checked them with this list: http://www.walmartatlas.com/no-park-walmarts/
I also used google to satellite peek at the surrounding area to determine if it was in a safe location. No problem and way easier than checking into a campground when just doing an overnight.

Sent from my iPhone using Fiberglass RV

TomK · 09-23-2014, 05:14 AM

Thanks for that Walmart Atlas link Josh. It's an excellent reference source.

Tom

Darrell in Al · 09-24-2014, 01:10 AM

I've stayed at a CW over night a time or two. One of the times was so I could pick up a part when they opened in morning. The store knew I was coming to pick up a part. I have also stayed in WM parking lots a few times, with that I do spend some $ at the locations I stay at. If I'm just catching a few hours of sleep spending $20-60 is a waste of had earned money.

Green Frog · 09-24-2014, 06:12 AM

My reason for having my Burro is a little different from most... it's my home away from home at shooting events such as North-South Skirmishes. Normally it doesn't travel more than 3-5 hours from home, and once it gets to Fort Shenandoah especially, it stays there for a few weeks at a time while I return to my "brick and mortar campsite."

Recently however, there was a flood at the Spring National Skirmish and I had to hook up and bug out in the wee hours of the morning. When I got into town, I simply asked at the local Sheetz™ gas station (as I was paying for coffee and doughnuts) whether I could stay at the edge in the front of their lot for a few hours. The young man at the counter said sure, and for about 3 hours or so I simply climbed into the old bed and snoozed. I don't know about their corporate policy on the matter, but most of these big, all night convenience and gas centers have a fair amount of unused peripheral parking that goes pretty much unused from about 11:00 PM to 5:00 AM and it doesn't hurt to ask...

Froggie